4.  The applicant lives in Aistersheim.
5.  The applicant owns a landholding of some 150 hectares, which is an approved hunting ground (Eigenjagd). According to the Upper Austria Hunting Act (Oberösterreichisches Jagdgesetz), every six years, the District Authority has to establish the boundaries of the Upper Austrian hunting grounds. In this respect, requests may be filed by landowners to have adjacent land allocated to their hunting grounds where, for proper functioning of hunting, boundaries need readjustment (Arrondierungsantrag).
6.  On 30 September 1992 the applicant filed such a request for readjustment in respect of the next six years’ hunting period, i.e. from April 1993 to March 1999.
7.  On 19 January 1993 the Grieskirchen District Authority (Bezirkshauptmannschaft) partly granted the applicant’s request and assigned specified plots of third persons to the applicant’s hunting grounds, but dismissed her request concerning some other parcels of land. On 30 January 1993 the applicant appealed against this decision.
8.  The Upper Austria Regional Government (Landesregierung) quashed the decision on 9 July 1993 and referred the case back to the District Authority, instructing the latter to take a new decision after having supplemented its proceedings.
9.  On 14 October and 2 November 1993, respectively, the District Authority issued new decisions establishing the boundaries of the applicant’s hunting grounds. It dismissed the remainder of the applicant’s request for adjustment of the boundaries. The applicant appealed against this decision.
10.  A hearing together with an inspection of the location took place on 25 January 1994.
11.  On 10 March 1994 the appointed official hunting expert (jagdfachlicher Amtssachverständiger) filed an expertise on the question whether supplementary community land had to be assigned to the applicant’s hunting grounds.
12.  On 22 March 1994 the Upper Austria Regional Hunting Committee (Landesjagdbeirat) commented on the applicant’s request. On 28 April 1994 the applicant submitted the opinion of a private expert (Privatsachverständiger).
13.  The Upper Austria Regional Government partly granted the applicant’s appeal on 14 June 1994 and modified the impugned decision concerning some of the borders but confirmed the dismissal of parts of the applicant’s request for additional adjustment. The applicant filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court.
14.  On or about 27 September 1994 the Constitutional Court declined to deal with the applicant’s complaint for lack of prospect of success and referred the case to the Administrative Court. This decision was served on the applicant’s lawyer in December 1994.
15.  On 14 November 1995 the Administrative Court ordered the applicant to supplement his complaint. On 8 February 1996 the applicant complied with this request.
16.  The Regional Government filed its comments on the applicant’s complaint on 15 May 1996.
17.  On 3 July 1996 the Administrative Court, quashing the decision on formal grounds, referred the case to the Regional Government and ordered the latter to further supplement the proceedings. The court found in particular that the authority had failed to duly take into account the private expert’s opinion submitted by the applicant. The court considered that the authority should have obtained the official expert’s comment on the issues raised by the private expert. The decision was served on the applicant’s lawyer on 21 August 1996.
18.  Thereupon, the Regional Government informed the official expert of the private expert’s submissions and ordered him to supplement his report accordingly.
19.  On 8 October 1996 the official expert complied with this request. His additional remarks were served on the applicant, who was given a time limit to file her comments.
20.  On 4 November 1996 and 31 December 1996 the applicant requested an extension of the time limit set. This was granted and on 20 January 1997 she filed her comments in the form of a revised version of her private expert’s opinion.
21.  The official expert, on 11 March 1997, commented on these further submissions, stating that they did not change his findings set out in the report of 8 October 1996.
22.  On 16 July 1997 the Upper Austria Regional Government dismissed the applicant’s appeal against the District Authority’s decisions of 14 October and 2 November 1993. It found that the requested readjustments were not necessary for the purposes of the proper functioning of hunting. The private expert erred in his legal opinion that the mere fact, that the requested readjustments were useful for the applicant’s hunting grounds and did not constitute a significant disadvantage to the adjacent hunting grounds, implied such a necessity.
23.  The applicant lodged a complaint against this decision with the Administrative Court on 20 August 1997 and requested that an oral hearing be held. She complained that the Regional Government’s had not given sufficient reasons for its decision. In particular, it had not balanced the arguments submitted by the private expert against those submitted by the official expert. Furthermore, its legal findings were not conclusive. The applicant further complained that the Regional Government had not obtained the official expert’s opinion on the revised version of her private expert’s opinion and had not held an oral hearing in which it heard both experts.
24.  The applicant further contested that the private expert had erred in his legal opinion concerning the necessity of the readjustments. She complained that the Regional Government had failed to indicate that the requested parcels of land had in the past already been assigned to her. She finally submitted that the granting of the requested readjustments guaranteed a better hunting efficiency.
25.  On 4 November 1997 the Regional Government filed its comments on the applicant’s appeal. In these submissions, reference was made to the statements of the official expert concerning the revised version of the private expert’s opinion on 11 March 1997. The Regional Government noted that this comment had not been communicated to the applicant because the official expert had added nothing to his report of 8 October 1996. These comments were served on the applicant’s lawyer on 17 November 1997.
26.  On 21 January 1998 the Administrative Court dismissed the applicant’s appeal as being unfounded. It found that the Regional Government had duly considered the private expert’s arguments and gave conclusive arguments for its decision. It noted that the Regional Government had held a hearing on 25 January 1994. No further hearing had been necessary. The applicant’s remaining submissions were irrelevant for the proceedings at issue.
27.  The court dispensed with an oral hearing. This decision was served on the applicant’s lawyer on 18 February 1998.